The Matriarch had promised me that when the time came, she would release the scent-records to prove my innocence. What they thought of me no longer mattered.
I stared at her with an empty expression, let out a long breath, and turned to lie down on the sleeping furs.
"Do as you please. Whatever you want."
She thought I was going to lunge at Dorian Frostclaw the way I used to, claws extended. Her muscles tensed with fear, and she planted herself firmly in front of him as a shield.
But when she saw me simply turn my back and settle onto the bed, all her defensive instincts ground to a halt.
After a long silence, she spoke in a voice thick with disbelief.
"You're... you're not angry?"
My voice came out flat and even.
"Isn't this what you've always wanted? For me to accept him peacefully?"
She relaxed and actually laughed.
"You've finally learned to behave. I knew you weren't truly cold-hearted. I'll make it up to you someday, I promise."
I didn't respond. Even as they left the chamber, I never once looked at her.
Much later, I pressed my hand against my chest where my heart beat steady and unmoved.
So this was what letting go felt like.